Interchangeable handbag



Oct. 9, 1951 1. PEYSER 2,570,851

' INTERCHANGEABLE HANDBAG Filed Dec. 6, 1949 i INVENTOR.

IRVING PEYSER Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERCHANGEABLE HANDBAG Irving Peyser, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application December 6, 1949, Serial No. 131,390

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in ladies handbags of the kind incorporating a plurality of complementary portions one of which is interchangeable with another or with any one of several others, to provide different color combinations and other effects, as for from time to time adapting a selected color 'or dominating color to be well matchedwith a costume then worn; and, more particularly, the aim isto provide a novel and valuable such handbag characterized by a construction such that of said complementary portions one is a lower body portion, this providing also the bottom wall of the hangbag, and the other is an upper detachable body portion arranged for ready dependable attachment near its bottom to the lower body portion near its top, said upper body portion carrying the entirety of the bag closure and handle means.

Preferably, the means last-named is a sing e means for acting as a read ly openable closure for the upper body portion and also for acting as the handbag handle.

A feature of the invention, further, is that said means last-named is of such na ure that an upper body portion, after being detached from said lower body portion, may be turned inside out, and then, with said means still operative for the purposes stated, said upper body portion may be again'at ached to said ower body portion; thereby, with the lin ng of said u per body portion of a contrasting color to the material used for the outer side thereof, to change the color or otherwise mod fy the a earance of he component of the com lete handbag contributed by said upper body portion.

According to this arrangement, and with, whenever desired, a plurality of upper body port ons being fu ni hed with a, sin le lower body portion. and further w th, for exam le. all aid upper body portions having a contrasting linin as above, the number of possible variations of the appearance of the bag as a whole ou d ecual the number of said up er body portions multiplied b t o.

In re ard to th various attractive yet difi rent handba ensembles which may be provid d by the inv ntion, these differences may re ide in contrasting colorations. as already mentioned, or they may resu t from difierent surface-formation characteristics. as, for instanc those res ectivelv typical of the weave of a texti e fabric, or of th a n of a leather or f th nature and mode of application of an enamel coating, etc.

As the. invention is also desi abv carried out. the lower body portion is of relatively stiff and rigid kind, as by being made of plastic, wood, metal or other suitable material, and an upper body portion is made of relatively limp or at least fairly 2 Claims. (Cl. 28)

freely flexible material, such as a textile fabric, a leather or the like.

Said upper and lower body portions below will respectively be called the upper and lower body members.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a now approved embodiment of the invention, with the handbag fully established by inclusion of a pair of interconnected upper and lower body members.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the upper body member.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lower body member.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged central vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

The handbag, acording to the present invention, includes a lower body member II] in the form of a cylindrical cup made of a suitable plastic and incorporating a sidewall H and a circular bottom wall I2. Said wall II is also shown as of uniform height all around the member ID. As is to be understood, however. the wall ll may be undulant at its top or otherwise modified as to its height at various points around the member In; and, also, said member I!) may be other ise than cylindrical, as by being oval, e liptical, half-round,

oblongovare, square or otherwise polygonal, in horizontal section. which section, further, may vary at difierent levels, as, for instance, to have the said member l0 taper upward, taper downward or be ,of maximum cross-sectional expanse intermediate its top and bo tom.

The upper body member I4 is of tubular form. In the present case. since the top ed e of the wall I l of the lower body member ID is shown as lying in a single p ane, the bottom portion of said member I4 is such that the bottom edge of said member may also lie in a single plane when the bottom of the member I4 s distended for curvilinear extension in conformity with the curvature of the wall H. The bottom of the member M is also so dimens oned that the diameter of the circle corres onding to said curvilinear extension is substant ally the same as the outer diameter of the wall ll. Then the bottom marginal portion of the member l4 ma be telescoped snugly over the up er marginal portion of the wall II as shown in Fig. 4.

The upper body member I4 is of two-ply construction all over; these plies, l5 and It, being of flexible materials of different coloration or other surface appearances as already mentioned. The elements and It may be pieces cut from said materials when flat, and then formed into tubular units, as by employing a suitable seam not shown in regard to each and extending from top to bottom thereof. In joining tubular units thus made from the two pieces 15 and 16, as immediately below explained, the edge portions of said pieces projecting beyond the threads participating in said seams will be pocketed between the two. units. With said units arranged one within the other, all around the bottoms thereof the constituent pieces l5 and I6 thereof are marginally inturned, as shown respectively at H and IS in Fig. 4, and said units are there seamed together as by a stitching 19, to give a good finish to the bottom of the body member 1.4- all around thesame.

The edge portions of said tubular units at the tops thereof are similarly marginally inturned, as also: shown. in Fig. 4, and then a stitching is applied to establish a seam giving a good finish ,to the top of the body member It all around the same. The upper portion. of said member [4; is indented at two opposite points around said memher, to provide two like flaps 2! and. 22, and. the seam last referred to follows such indentations as will be noted in Figs. 1 and 4.

Girthwisely of the body member 1 two lines 23 and 24 of stitching'are applied, there to lock together the two pieces 55 and it. The stitching 23 is shown as just below the flaps 21 and 22, and the stitching as is enough lower down on the member it to provide a tunnel running all around said. member and of a width to accommodate a ribbon, tape, leather-strip or other'selected type of draw-string 25. Said tunnel, as at the point 21 in Figs. 1 and 2, is interrupted by a preferably vertically elongate suitabl finished ofi opening through both the pieces l5} and Hi.

The openings at the point 21 are for having extended theret roughthe two endportions 26s and 95 01 the draw-string- The width of the tunnel 25. that is, thespacingbetween the stitches 23 and 24; is made sufficiently large beyond the draw-stringend portions 26 and 26 to permit the middle portion of the draw-string to be extended along the tunnel f-ully encirclingly thereof, for most efficient operation of the draw-string in tightly closing the handbag top by pullingon both the draw-string end portions 26 and 26 Such encircling of the middle portion of the drawstring is clearly indicated by the reference numerals 26 and 25 as they appear in Fig. 4-.

In carrying the handbag, the said drawstring end portions 26* and 26 serve as a suspending handle.

For detachablysecuring the upper body member I- l' to the lower body member If], a means is provided which includes aplurality of button-like headed stud 28-, preferably evenly spaced around the periphery of said member I D and fixedly car ried by and radially offset from the said member Ill near the top thereof. As herein shown, siX of these studs 28, all alik 'are present. Said means further includes a corresponding number of evenly spaced loops 29 of flexible material dependent from'the bottom of the body member l4. The upper ends of the strip-like elements from which said loops are desirably made are nested inside the finishing seam at the bottom of said member [4 and there anchored in place by the stitching 19.

As the handbag assembly is shown in the drawing, the piece l5 of the body member 14 is at the .4 outside,-with the piece [6 acting as a lining. At any time desired, and after temporary detachment of the loops 29 from the studs 28, the said member [4 may be readily turned inside out, thereby to place the piece H5 at the outside and locate the. piece 15 as a lining, but nevertheless the draw-string 25 is operable as before.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letter Patent, is:

1. Connecting means for; a handbag; having a rigid lower body member and a flexible reversible upper body member which; can be turned tohaye either sidev faced outward, comprising equally spaced.- fastener members mounted on; theoutsidc of the lower body member and in a lineencircling the lower body member closely adjacent its. top, the bottom portion of the upper body member being of an inside diameter to, be snugly telescoped over the top of the lower body member above said fastener members regardless, of which of its sides is faced outward, and complementary fastener members depending from the bottom edge of the upper body member to be exposed for engagement with said firs-t mentioned fastener members regardless of which ofthe sides of the upper body member is faced outward:

2, Connecting means for a handbag having a rigid lower body member and a flexible reversible upper body member which can be turned. to. have either side faced outward, comprising equally spaced fastener members mounted on the outside of the lower body member and in a, line encirclin the lower body member closely adjacent its top, the bottom portion of the upper body" member being of an inside diameter to be snugly; telescoped overthe topof" thelower body member above said fastener members regardless of: which of its sides is faced outward, and: complementary fastener members, depending from the bottom edge; of the upper body member to be exposed for engagement with said first-mentioned fastener members regardles of which of thesides; of: the upper body member is faced outward, said; firstmentioned fastener members comprising headed studs extending radially outward from'the lower body member, said complementary faste'nermembers com-prising loops depending from the bottom edge of the upper body member and engageable with said headed studs.

IRVING P YsER'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references. are, of record, in, the e f th s. pat nt:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

